"Maybe you should. He works...well, he works for me now but I won't know anything about what you two talk about. I promise. But...he might be able to help piece things back together."
~
Alex cringed. He hated it when his mother used his full name. "I know, Mum, but she's just so....infuriating! She is dating a guy who is way lower in class than her. I don't get why she just doesn't date someone of her own class. Then she wouldn't be the leader of the resistance and be basically playing with fire."

Being single doesn't make you weak, it means that you are strong enough to be on your own; Being alone could be a good thing, because there is no drama involved in your life, no pain, and free to do what ever you want. Life is too short to be chasing those who aren't even worth fighting for, you are worth more than that.

Ryan looked down, "I guess I can. I just... I'm having a hard time with remembering really LITTLE things. Things I never talked about at The Program I'm forgetting as well. I played a game with Dave earlier and then I remembered something about Ella, and after that I suddenly forgot how to play the game I was playing."
-
"But you should NEVER hit a woman, Alex. No matter how mad you get or how stupid he choices may be. Don't take notes from your fa-"

Mr. Rice was standing at the top of the grand spiral stairwell, looking down at them like some kind of Disney villain. xD "Take notes from whom, Mary?"

"Yes, well he had to come home at some point." David Rice folded his arms and kept staring at them from the stairwell. "Can I speak to you alone for a moment, my love?"

Mary shook her head, "No. You can't. I'm busy catching up with my son. You should be too, he's had a rough couple months."

"That's his own fault, not mine. He is lucky I bailed him out."
-
Olivia sat in Ella's desk chair. Ella closed the door and then sat on the bed. "It's... It's the whole baby situation. It's cause me a lot of pain today."

"Ryan..." Torie said, still feeling guilty. "Babe, what they did to you in there was hard and I didn't make it any easier for you. We both knew that when you came out...you weren't going to be the same. We weren't even sure what you would remember. The fact that you still remember me...well, that's surprising after what they put you through. Don't be hard on yourself. It's going to take time."
~
Alex stared up at his father, trying to figure out whether he should stay or run. "Uh...yeah, thanks for that." He replied, nervously.

Being single doesn't make you weak, it means that you are strong enough to be on your own; Being alone could be a good thing, because there is no drama involved in your life, no pain, and free to do what ever you want. Life is too short to be chasing those who aren't even worth fighting for, you are worth more than that.

Mary looked at her husband while holding Alex close to her, "David, this is not the time for that. He is still a little bit shaken from all that has happened, he does not need to speak properly in from of us anyway."

Mr. Rice did not like Alex speaking improperly. Throughout Alex's childhood, David had made Alex correct himself if he spoke like someone of the lower class. "Uh, is not acceptable. If you are still thinking about your response, you simply do not make a sound such as 'uh' unless you intentionally wish to sound idiotic. Yeah and thanks are slang for YES and THANK YOU. The correct forms are no more difficult to say than the slang, but slang is for the lower class and the lazy."

"Honey, please not now-"

"Mary, now is a perfect time. He has been around too many people who use that speech on a regular basis. Here, he should never speak that way."

She nodded and slipped her hand into his. "Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked.
~
"Sorry, Dad. Thank you for bailing me out of jail." He corrected himself, looking away from his father.

Being single doesn't make you weak, it means that you are strong enough to be on your own; Being alone could be a good thing, because there is no drama involved in your life, no pain, and free to do what ever you want. Life is too short to be chasing those who aren't even worth fighting for, you are worth more than that.

"Oh..." Torie replied. "Want me to walk home with you, then?" She asked, trying to smile but it just wasn't happening. After finding out that Alex and Quinton were the father's of Ella's babies, the fight between her and Mike, the Program wanting her head, and just trying to be strong for all of those around her she was drained. She had no more strength left to pretend to be ok with everything going on around her.
~
"Mum, let me help you with those. They are kind of heavy." He said, walking after her. "Sorry, they are heavy." He corrected himself.

Being single doesn't make you weak, it means that you are strong enough to be on your own; Being alone could be a good thing, because there is no drama involved in your life, no pain, and free to do what ever you want. Life is too short to be chasing those who aren't even worth fighting for, you are worth more than that.

"Only if you want to."
-
She handed the heavier bag to Alex. Once David was back in his office, and Mary and Alex were quite a ways down the hall, she said to her son, "You needn't be proper around me, darling." She opened the door into his room and put the luggage she was carrying on the floor near the bed. "Anything else you want to talk about, Alex?"

"Of course I do. I want to spend as much time with you as I can." She replied, tightening her hand around his.
~
"No, just want to unpack. Want to go grab a bite to eat after you talk with Dad?" He asked, throwing on bag on the bed and the other next to the bed on the floor.

Being single doesn't make you weak, it means that you are strong enough to be on your own; Being alone could be a good thing, because there is no drama involved in your life, no pain, and free to do what ever you want. Life is too short to be chasing those who aren't even worth fighting for, you are worth more than that.

Ryan smiled, "Then let's get walking."
-
Mary nodded and smiled lightly, "That would be lovely. Hopefully, I will not be long." She kissed Alex on the forehead and then went to her husband's office. She knocked on the door only a single time before David opened it. Mary swallowed, "Yes, David?"

David pulled Mary into the room and shut the door. "You made me look like an @sshole in front of our child."

"You made yourself look like that." Mary said, rolling her eyes.

He slapped her across the face. "You are too easy on him. You treat him like a baby."

"Because he's MY BABY. And I'd rather be a loving mother than a dictator! You have no connection to him. You don't care about him at all!"

"That is not true."

"IT IS SO." Mary yelled at him. He glared at her, and she stepped backward. She sighed, "David, he just wants to feel like you love him. Maybe if you treated him better, he wouldn't be so violent. He knows how you treat me, and subconsciously perhaps he thinks it's okay."

"Are you calling me violent?"

"If the shoe fits-"

David grabbed her still slightly injured arm from their previous fight. He twisted it. "Don't speak to me like that. Get out. We'll settle this later. I have work to do." He shoved her out of the room and closed the door.